Letterkenny 19 - 35 Limivady

1) Luke McKeever
2) Eoin Parkinson
3) Dan Geoghegan
4) Emmet Gillespie
5) Jack Smyth
6) Odhrán Finn
7) Mathew Duffy
8)

9) Ben Hopkins
10) Kaymin Shortt
11) Jason Patton
12) Conor Aiken
13) Leon Duffy
14) Finn Nicolas
15 )

Limivady travelled to Letterkenny on a fine fresh morning for a match in Dave Gallagher park. After a brief discussion between the coaches before KO it was agreed both teams would fight it out with 13 men each, as both teams due to injuries were unable to field 15 players.
Letterkenny get the game underway through their out half Kaymin Shortt kicking from right to left with no wind worth talking about on the day. Letterkenny apply the initial pressure and are awarded a scrum on the 22 after a crooked line out throw from their opposition. Limivady however quickly turnover possession and are themselves now making their way down the field, but some fine tackling halts the initial drive and Letterkenny steal back the ball and are awarded a penalty on the Limivady 10 meter line, Kaymin kicks for touch and Letterkenny have the lineout on the oppositions 22. Limivady do well and win back the ball and clear their lines which a huge boot up field, Ben Hopkins is covering back and does well under the high ball and starts another Letterkenny attack, the ball finds it’s way into Jack Smyth’s hands and he puts the head down and makes several meters of good ground, the ball is quickly spread out the back line and into the hands of Jason Patton who makes a few meters before being taken down, and he does well to setup the ruck and Ben quick to react picks from the back of the ruck and with a little grubber through finds himself in space but is beaten to the chase by the Limivady defense who touch down over their own line, Letterkenny already had the penalty so this was a nice effort with some free play. Ben taps the penalty and feeds a charging Dan Geoghegan but he is brought down short of the line but another penalty is awarded and Ben again taps and this time feeds Odhrán Finn who shows some super carrying skills on the day but he is also stopped short. Letterkenny finally knock it on to the relieve of the Limivady defence.
Limivady now start to apply some pressure of their own and make their way down the field and win a lineout on the Letterkenny 22. They win the lineout but Jack Smyth is having none of it and rips the ball from the hands of the Limivady jumper and Ben clears his lines with a fine kick up to the halfway line.
Limivady again apply the pressure and make their way back into the Letterkenny 22 where they are awarded a penalty and with a quick tap they get the ball out wide and Letterkenny are caught napping when the Limivady winger crosses the line in the corner. With a super kick from out wide Limivady convert and the score after 8 mins of play is 7 – 0.
Letterkenny keep the pressure on from the off again with some good drives in the pack from Dan and Mathew and they continue to edge closer to the Limivady line. But Limivady win back the ball and make their way out of trouble, this time in one of the Mauls Eoin Parkinson rips the ball back and sets Letterkenny back on the front foot, and Jack Smyth this time peels from the back and makes good ground as he does for much of the game. But again the ball is turned over and Limivady set their back line into motion and their big number 13 makes some great ground before Eoin Parkinson brings him down just short of the line with a thundering tackle. Letterkenny are awarded a penalty and clear their lines to outside the 22 where Odhrán Finn soars and wins the ball but is dragged into touch by the Limivady pack. Letterkenny steal the lineout and the ball is fed out to Kaymin who spots a gap and puts in a huge kick up to the Limivady 10 meter line.
Limivady again however steal back the ball and are off on the charge again down the left wing, but Finn Nicolas is equal to the challenge and nails his man, Limivady continue to mount the pressure and it takes a big tackle from Mathew Duffy to halt them in their tracks on this occasion. Eoin Parkinson again adds to his try saving tackle tally just short of the line but Limivady are there in numbers and quickly get it out to their big center who crashes over again in the left corner. Again a super long conversion attempt from Limivady just drops over the bar and the score with 8 mins left in the first half is 14 – 0.

From the off Limivady step up the pressure and again with some strong running from their center pairing they break through the middle and are under the posts this time. Score now 21 – 0 with 5 mins to HT. Letterkenny up their efforts and apply some great pressure getting within a few meters where they are awarded a penalty for their efforts, Ben taps quickly and feeds a charging Mathew Duffy who crosses the line to the right of the posts for Letterkennys first of the day just on the HT whistle. Kaymin hits the upright with the conversion and sees it drop left and wide. HT score 21 – 5.

Limivady get the second half under way and find themselves with possession from the off and they continue to apply the pressure on Letterkenny. Again with some quick hands they get the ball out to their number 15 who crashes over under the posts and the conversion is slotted to leave the score at 28 – 5 after just 2 mins of the second half.

Letterkenny up their game and find themselves only a few meters out but the ball is spilled and into the hands of one of the Limivady backs who sets off at high speed but Finn Nicolas lines him up and takes him out with a great try saving tackle. Letterkenny win a scrum for a knock on and they get the ball out the back line to Kaymin and he sets of on one of his runs making 30 meters up the field before being tackled, he keeps the ball alive popping it to Leon Duffy who makes a few more meters before laying it off to Jason Patton on the wing but Limivady are equal to the great attack and grind it to a halt. Limivady get a penalty which they clear to their own 10 meter line and they win the lineout getting the ball out to their wide men and again with some fine play switch the direction of the attack and go for the right corner where they score again. Again another huge kick from Limivady sees the conversion from the touchline go over the bar and the score is now 35 – 5 after 10 mins of play in the second half.

Letterkenny don’t give up and come at Limivady again winning back the ball and with some great drives again from Odhrán Finn, Jack Smyth and Dan Geoghegan, they continue this forward drive until they are only a few meters out and Dan Geoghan picks from the back of the ruck and crashes over in the right hand corner. Superb conversion kick from the touchline from Kaymin secures the 2 points and with 18 mins left the score is 35 – 12.

Again from the off the forwards have found a new lease of life and keep the forward motion going with some great drives from Dan and Luke McKeever this time. Odhrám Finn continues his good display on the day and continues to carry well up the field. Again Mathew Duffy makes his presence felt as he carries 4 or 5 meters each time, the pack are eating up the ground now as they get closer and closer to the line. They are now awarded a scrum on the 22 and the ball is fed out the backline with some super handling from all as they get the ball to Jason on the wing and he crosses the line. The ref awards a penalty try for a foul on Jason so no need for a conversion this time and the score is 35 – 19.
Letterkenny continue to mount the pressure with Kaymin going on another of his runs making 10 meters and again the pack doing well with the same ball carriers making some great ground. Limivady however stay strong and refuse to let Letterkenny get any more points, and the game finishes 35 – 19.

The players player of the match this week which was close on votes for the top 3, goes to Dan Geoghegan, followed closely by Mathew Duffy and in third Eoin Parkinson.

Thanks to the helpers in the Kitchen for the food, the coaches for their hard work and to the parents who cheered on their lads on the day.